Plenty of Nothing

Co-operative Insurance Frenzy

A Galloway Beltie.

The Morton embark on their pursuit of the Scottish League Cup today in Stranraer in the very southwest corner of Scotland. Stranraer FC are the third-oldest fitba club in Scotland, but were not granted proper Scottish Fitba League membership until 1955 on account of being too far off in the countryside. They play in the Third Division, so they should be a pushover. Should be. Stranraer have won the Scottish Challenge Cup (not to be confused with the Scottish League Cup), while the Morton have not. 

Stranraer are known as the Blues because of their blue uniforms. Greenock, as the visitors, will have to wear their red kit. Why Stranraer don't wear colours drawn from the distinctive markings of the indigenous Belted Galloway cow I do not know. Oh yes I do -- then they'd look like St Mirren.

The Scottish League Cup is currently known as the Co-operative Insurance Cup, for insurance reasons. The competition was begun in 1947 and includes all 42 clubs in the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Fitba League. The playoff format works like this, I think. The six clubs that have qualified to play in Europe get to sit out the first two rounds, and four other really good clubs get to sit out the first round, leaving 32 clubs to play round one. Round two consists of the sixteen winners pairing off, plus the four other really good clubs pairing off separately, which results in ten winners. These are then joined in round three by the six UEFA clubs for a 16-team playoff, and on till the finals which take place in March.

As usual, the League Cup is generally won by Rangers or Celtic. Morton were runners up in 1964.

[Stranraer 1, Morton 7] [Morton meet St Johnstone August 25.]

Douglas

Stromboli

Geologists are still debating what it is causes the Italian volcano of Stromboli to erupt every twenty minutes. The answer is, of course, Ingrid Bergman. Douglas

[Postscript:

 

From BibliOdyssey.]

Evangeline Brandt "Underwood"

Professor Kōrogi

Gratuitous Zetsubou-Sensei Still

Zinck Comix "Pasture of Time"

How About Best of 103?

The Morton meet St Mirren FC today in their annual struggle for county supremacy, the Renfrewshire Cup. Each side has won 51 times since 1879, so this is the clincher! Except that they'll play again next year.

The Renfrewshire Cup game is just one of a number of local derbies played across Scotland. The Stirlingshire Cup has perhaps more interest in that there are six professional clubs involved and the winner takes several months to determine, but for sheer head-butting bloody-mindedness how can you beat a fixture that invariably features the same two clubs, and the same two mobs of supporters?

St Mirren, named for the patron saint of Paisley, are currently in the Scottish Premier League, so this is likely to be the only meeting of these two squads this year. The Paisley team are known as the Saints for short, alternately, the Buddies. Douglas (do you think Heather would be writing this stuff?)

[St Mirren win on penalty shots.]

Zinck Comix "Polar Medal"

 

Wallace Street

Sons of the Rock

The Sons of the Rock 

Maybe the hardest thing for a North American sports fan to get about Scottish football is that the playoffs begin before the regular season and include everyone.

That's an oversimplification because in fact Greenock Morton will take part in three separate sets of playoffs this year, one of which begins today in Dumbarton.  The Scottish Challenge Cup is contested by the 30 clubs of the Scottish Football League, the three divisions below the Premier League. Two clubs get a bye through the first round, while the other 28 pair off and play, leaving 16 for the second round. The finals are in November. The Challenge Cup has been around only since 1990, and is currently named the Alba Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons.  The Morton have been runners-up once.

Today they play Dumbarton FC, currently in Division Two, so the Ton should be favourites. Dumbarton are nicknamed the Sons, short for Sons of the Rock, as their playing field is at the foot of an extinct volcano. Their club dates back to 1872, making it two years older than Greenock Morton and the fourth oldest Scottish football club overall.  Dumbarton won the Scottish Cup (not to be confused with the Scottish Challenge Cup) in 1883.

And ... Morton win on penalty shots. They will meet [someone] [Ross County] August 10th in the second round.

Douglas